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Daniel Craig’s Bond in Italy

Daniel Craig’s Bond In Italy

In 2019 Daniel Craig will sign off with the 25th James Bond film. Since taking on the role in 2005, Craig has gone on to become a global icon and arguably the most popular Bond since Sean Connery. To celebrate his tenure we look at the times his version of the character visited Italy.

Casino Royale

The canal city of Venice played an important role in the film’s finale. In typical Bond fashion he enters Venice sailing a 54ft yacht with Eva Green’s Vesper Lynd. The building that “sank” in the film’s climatic action set piece is the 17th Century Palazzo Pisani Moretta. While the interior of the building is usually closed off to the public, the exterior (which is seen in the film) can be visited by boat.

Lake Como featured at the end of Casio Royale and has earned its place in cinematic history as the location of Daniel Craig’s first “Bond, James Bond”. The luxury villa where this line is uttered is the Villa La Gaeta and rooms can be rented out.

Quantum of Solace

As Craig’s second Bond film takes place immediately after the events of Casino Royale, Italy featured again. The first instance is in the pre-credits car chase sequence next to Lake Garda. The tunnel at the beginning of the chase is at the northeast part of the lake for those who want to recreate the opening shot in an Aston Martin (or any other car).

After the car chase Bond engages on a foot chase that take place Tuscany city of Siena during the famous Palio di Siena. The race is held twice a year and is considered a historically important event in the city.

Spectre

The capital of Italy, Rome was central to the plot of Craig’s last film. Many famous locations around the city were used. For the funeral scene where Bond first gets a glimpse of Christopher Waltz’s villain, the Museum of Roman Civilization was used as the backdrop. This location has been featured in hundreds of films and is a popular tourist destination.

The highlight of the Rome sequence is the car chase between Bond and Dave Bautista’s character Mr. Hinx. The chase goes over, around, and through many of the city’s most iconic locations. Atlas of Wonders notes that the chase features the banks of the Tiber River, the bridge of Ponte Sant’Angelo, the Vatican, and a passage known as the Passetto di Borgo.

The Bond Legacy

The Bond franchise continues to be one of cinema’s most enduring franchises. Since the first film Dr. No was released in 1962, the series has gone on to earn over $7 billion at the box office. The character of Bond has influenced many alternative versions across numerous mediums. The most recent example is Matthew Vaughn’s Kingsman films (the latest is was released this year). Vaughn has explained in interviews how the less serious Roger Moore films influenced him. Many of the parodies have embraced the Moore tongue-in-cheek era to create new twists on the character. Entertainment outlet Slingo in their slot game Jane Blonde reversed the gender of the famous spy in a game that both pays homage to and parodies James Bond. After Daniel Craig retires it is likely that the franchise will return to a less serious Bond, and inspire many more parodies.

One thing is for sure. Italy will always be a favorite location of the superspy, and we can expect to see Bond return to the country in the near future.

This is a guest post. As a long-time Bond fan (books and films) I thought this was a nice look at the way Bond and Italy have become intertwined.